The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

that lies mostly on the east side of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Maryland shares with

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. As of the 2010 census, its population was 449,226, with just under 8% of Marylanders living in the region – less populous than the city of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. It is politically more

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

than the rest of the state, generally returning more votes for

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

than Democrats in statewide and national elections. Developed in the colonial and federal period for agriculture, the Eastern Shore has remained a relatively rural region. The small city of Salisbury is the most populous community. The economy is dominated by three sectors: fishing along the coasts, especially for shellfish such as the blue crab; farming, especially large-scale chicken farms; and tourism, especially centered on the Atlantic coast and beach resort of Ocean City. Because of its coastal and low-lying geography, the region is vulnerable to

extreme weather Extreme weather or extreme climate events includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme events are based on a locati ...

events like hurricanes and larger environmental issues like

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and rising sea levels. The region has few major roads tying it together; the main connection to the other parts of Maryland is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which carries

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

and

U.S. Route 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, Mar ...

, while U.S. Route 13 connects the southern part of the Eastern Shore to both Delaware and Virginia.

Geography

The Eastern Shore consists of nine Maryland counties on the Chesapeake Bay's eastern side—or eastern side of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

(the western border of Cecil County with Harford County;

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

borders across the Mason–Dixon line), with Delaware to the east and north, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and

Virginia's Eastern Shore The Virginia's Eastern Shore AVA is an American Viticultural Area that includes a length of Virginia's Eastern Shore and consists of the counties of Accomack and Northampton. The topography in this AVA is mostly level and ranges from sea le ...

on the south. Maryland's and Virginia's Eastern Shore and all of Delaware form the Delmarva Peninsula. The counties comprised in the Eastern Shore are

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

, Cecil, Dorchester,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Queen Anne's Queen Anne's County is located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensvil ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester counties. To the south, the Calvert-Scarborough Line separates Maryland from Virginia. While having different boundaries than in the 17th-18th century, the Eastern Shore's geographic definition was set once everyone agreed on where Watkins Point—on the western side of the peninsula—is and where the Bay's shoreline began (since the bay side peters out into marshes and wetlands). In 1668, Philip alvertobtained Virginia recognition of Maryland's claims to present-day Somerset County, surveying a dividing line between the two colonies with Surveyor General of Virginia, Edmund Scarborough. Meanwhile, he negotiated treaties with Lower Eastern Shore Indian tribes harassing English settlers. These treaties defined standards of conduct for Indian-English relations, establishing an overall peace in the region. KentCountyMD

The northern limit is harder to locate. Some dispute Cecil County as a true Shore territory due to Interstate 95's presence with its surrounding developments, proximity to and influence from nearby urban areas such as

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Wilmington and

. It straddles the Elk River, resulting in 50% of the county being west of the Shore. Like

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of t ...

, Cecil County is crossed by the Fall Line, a geologic division where the rockier highlands of the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region meet the

Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

, a flat, sandy area that forms the coast. The coastal plain includes the Delmarva Peninsula and hence the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The geology of Delmarva is an inseparable part of the Eastern Shore, which has few rocky outcrops south of Kent County. The

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) is a -long, -wide and -deep ship canal that connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay in the states of Delaware and Maryland in the United States. In the mid‑17th century, mapmaker Augus ...

crosses from Back Creek on the Elk River to Port Penn, Delaware. While it was a shallow canal with locks after its construction in 1829, it was deepened in the early 20th century to sea level, and physically separates the Delmarva Peninsula from the rest of the United States. Maryland south of the canal is considered the Eastern Shore by residents. The term ''Western Shore'' is used by Eastern Shore residents to describe all the counties of Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay, but especially those of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area and Southern Maryland. BlackwaterNWR

The north–south section of the Mason–Dixon line forms the border between Maryland and Delaware. The border was originally marked every mile by a stone, and every five miles by a "crownstone". The line is not quite due north and south, but is as straight as survey methods of the 1760s could make it. It was surveyed as a compromise solution to a century-long wrangle over colonial territory between the Penn and Calvert families of England. If the Chesapeake Bay/Delaware Bay watershed divide had been taken as the borderline, the state of Delaware would be about half its current size.

History

Early history

William Claiborne was granted land (part of the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

) in 1629 and named the land "Kent County". In 1631, he sailed north up the

from its south and west side to the area known today as Kent Island. There he made a fortified settlement that is considered to be the first English settlement within the Province of Maryland. Talbot County was formed in 1662.

Cecil County Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was n ...

was formed in 1674, by proclamation of the Governor, from eastern portions of Baltimore County and the northern portion of Kent County. Wicomico County was formed in 1867, as the 9th and last county, created from Somerset and Worcester counties.

Formation of the counties

*1642 Kent County - In 1642, the governor and council appointed commissioners for the Isle and County of Kent. This act appears to have led to the establishment of Kent County, named after the county of

in England. *1661 Talbot County - named for

Lady Grace Talbot The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inf ...

, the wife of Sir Robert Talbot, an Irish statesman, and the sister of

Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (8 August 1605 – 30 November 1675), also often known as Cecilius Calvert, was an English nobleman, who was the first Proprietor of the Province of Maryland, ninth Proprietary Governor of the Colony of New ...

. *1666 Somerset County - named for Mary, Lady Somerset, the wife of Sir John Somerset and daughter of

Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour (c. 15607 November 1639) was the eldest son of Sir Matthew Arundell of Wardour Castle in Wiltshire (ca. 1532/1534 – 24 December 1598), and Margaret Willoughby, the daughter of Sir Henry Willoughby ...

. *1669 Dorchester County - Named for the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calverts (the founding family of the Maryland colony). Dorchester is the County Town of Dorset in England. *1674

. *1706

Queen Anne's County Queen Anne's County is located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensvil ...

- formed from northern parts of Talbot and southern portions of Kent. Name after Queen Anne of Great Britain who reigned when the county was established. *1742 Worcester County - named for the Earl of Worcester. *1773 Caroline County - formed from parts of Dorchester and Queen Anne's counties. The county derives its name from Lady Caroline Eden, wife of Maryland's last colonial governor of the Province of Maryland, Robert Eden. *1867 Wicomico County.

Later history

Ocean City was founded on July 4, 1875, when the Atlantic Hotel opened on Assateague Island. At the time, Assateague Island was continuous from the Delaware state line to well south of Ocean City: the Ocean City Inlet was not formed until a hurricane in August 1933 cut across the south end of the town. The inlet was cut not by waves sweeping inland, but by 4 or 5 days' worth of freshwater runoff from the coastal creeks running seaward. By 1935, government money had built jetties to make the inlet permanent, dividing Fenwick Island (north) from Assateague Island (south). Early transportation to the island was by train. Until the 1820s, travel and commerce between the Eastern Shore and Baltimore were less important than the connections between it and Philadelphia. Water travel by sailboat and steamer linked the Eastern Shore to Baltimore more tightly beginning about 1813, when the first steamboat traveled the Bay. By the 1880s, railroad lines linked the Eastern Shore to Philadelphia and later,

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 cen ...

, by way of a railroad line straight south from Wilmington to

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, Delmar, Salisbury, and Cape Charles. Maryland's Eastern Shore was served by branch lines running generally southwest from the main route. See

List of railroad lines in the Delmarva Peninsula This is a list of all freight railroad (not streetcar or rapid transit) lines that have been built in the Delmarva Peninsula south of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, and does not deal with ownership changes from one company t ...

. The Eastern Shore's many branchlines were built after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

by local companies; by the late nineteenth century, all were controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad (which also bought control of the steamboat and ferry routes), then Conrail and

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

. Today the remaining active railroad tracks on the Eastern Shore are operated by short-line railroads Delmarva Central Railroad and the Maryland and Delaware Railroad. Commercial east–west ties between Delaware towns and Maryland towns were culturally significant in Colonial and Early American periods despite the border line (which largely cut through woods and swamps). Trade with Philadelphia was conducted by overland routes to Delaware towns such as

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

(then called Cantwell's Bridge) and

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

(then called Duck Creek). Agricultural products and milled grain were taken up the Delaware River by "shallop men" in small vessels called shallops. These cultural connections continue to this day. An east–west rail route ran from a ferry terminal at Claiborne, west of St. Michaels, to Ocean City, via the

Baltimore and Eastern Shore Railroad Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

and the

Wicomico and Pocomoke Railroad The name Wicomico may refer to the following: *The Wicocomico or Wicomico people, an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe, part of whom lived in the Tidewater region of Virginia *Wicomico River (disambiguation), several rivers tributary to t ...

. Travelers could also take a ferry to

Love Point Love Point is the name for the northernmost tip of Kent Island, Maryland, United States and as such, marks the southern point of the mouth of the Chester River. It has served as a major ferry terminal, the western terminus of the Queen Anne's Railr ...

on Kent Island, board a Queen Anne's Railroad train, and travel east to

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre ...

and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Automobile transportation across the Chesapeake Bay was by ferryboat until 1952, when the first Chesapeake Bay Bridge was opened for traffic. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, developers began selling lots on Assateague Island, south of the inlet. However, a storm on March 6, 1962 destroyed houses, shacks, and roads. The state and federal governments intervened before reconstruction by creating the Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague State Park to preserve this area rather than have it be developed. An Eastern Shore Baseball League operated during three periods between 1922 and 1949. It was a Class D minor league with teams in all three states of Delmarva.

Demographics

Although the Eastern Shore comprises more than a third of Maryland's land area, it has a population of 420,792 (2004 census estimate), about 8% of Maryland's population. The most populous city on the Eastern Shore is Salisbury, and the most populous county is Cecil. The

Salisbury metropolitan area The Salisbury, MD-DE Metropolitan Statistical Area is a United States Census Bureau-designated metropolitan area centered in and around Salisbury, Maryland, including four counties: Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester in Maryland; and Sussex in Delaw ...

is the only

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

on the Eastern Shore; it comprises

, Wicomico, and Worcester counties, and

Sussex County, Delaware Sussex County is located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 237,378. The county seat is Georgetown, Delaware, Georgetown. The first ...

Elections

As a whole the Eastern Shore is considerably more conservative than the more densely populated and urban Western Shore. Since the late 20th century, when conservative whites shifted to the Republican Party, the region has strongly supported Republican candidates for governor. The last three Republican candidates for governor–

Ellen Sauerbrey Ellen Richmond Sauerbrey (born September 9, 1937) is an American politician from Maryland and the former head of the United States Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. She was nominated to the Bureau in September 20 ...

, Bob Ehrlich, and Larry Hogan–have swept all nine counties. At the presidential level, the Eastern Shore also leans Republican. But Kent and Somerset counties have flipped back and forth in supporting Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. The last Democrat to win Dorchester County was

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

from Arkansas in 1996. Cecil County has not gone Democratic since

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

from Georgia won the county in 1976. Queen Anne's, Caroline, Wicomico, and Worcester counties have voted Republican at every election subsequent to Lyndon Johnson's landslide. Up until 2020, this was true for Talbot County as well, but it was won by Joe Biden. The Eastern Shore has long been a part of Maryland's 1st Congressional district. Democrat Roy Dyson represented the 1st district from 1981 until 1990, when he was defeated by Republican Wayne Gilchrest. Gilchrest held the seat until 2008, when State Senator Andy Harris defeated him in the Republican primary. Harris narrowly lost the subsequent general election to Democrat

Frank Kratovil Frank Michael Kratovil Jr. (born May 29, 1968) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. Elected in 2008, he was defeated in his bid for reelection on November 2, 2010. Kratovil is a member of the Democrat ...

, Queen Anne's County state's attorney. In 2010, Harris again ran for the district and handily defeated Kratovil after a single term in office. Harris has held the seat without serious difficulty since. In the Maryland General Assembly, the Eastern Shore encompasses a portion of district 35B and all of districts 35A, 36, 37A and 37B, 38A, 38B and 38C. All seats are held by Republicans except for a state delegate seat in district 37A.

Economy

Tourism

Ocean City MD beach looking north from pier

Ocean City's skyline, containing tall hotels and condominiums, stands out within Delmarva. At the southern end of the town, a recreational boardwalk spans over thirty blocks, containing carnival rides and games, restaurants, bars, arcades, and clothing boutiques. Tourists visit St. Michaels on a neck surrounded by water; the colonial former port of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

; Chestertown; and isolated

Smith Island Smith Island or Smith's Island may refer to the following places: Antarctica * Smith Islands, Wilkes Land * Smith Island (South Shetland Islands) Australia * Smith Islands National Park, Queensland *Smith Island (South Australia) Bermuda * Smith ...

in the Chesapeake Bay. North of Crisfield is Janes Island State Park, with camping and kayaking trails through marshlands.

Fishing

At the southern end of the Chesapeake coast of Maryland, the town of

Crisfield Crisfield is a city in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, located on the Tangier Sound, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 2,515 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statisti ...

is home to a fishing, crabbing, and seafood processing industry.

Agriculture

In the 21st century, the main economic activities on the Eastern Shore are vegetable and grain

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

, seafood, large-scale chicken breeding ( Perdue Farms was founded in Salisbury and is still headquartered there today), and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

. Tobacco was the chief commodity crop during colonial times. The agricultural economy switched to mixed products, including grain, in the second half of the 18th century.

Energy

Energy in the Eastern shore is provided by five oil and natural gas plants.

Pipeline

Environmental issues and climate change

As part of the broader Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Eastern Shore confronts common environmental issues of the watershed, such as nutrient runoff from agriculture, but it is also vulnerable to climate change. Because of its low-lying geography and sandy soil, the region is particularly vulnerable to

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...

and salt water intrusion. Moreover, because of the coastal geography, infrastructure is already being damaged both due to sea level rise, and storm surge from tropical storms and hurricanes. The Eastern Shore’s economy depends on the larger fisheries and farming, both of which are sensitive to climate change.

Transportation

Waterways

Various waterways provide a medium for commerce and boaters: the Atlantic Ocean,

, the

, and the

Roads

There are three major routes onto the Shore: *The Chesapeake Bay Bridge spans of the

, and at the time of construction in 1952, was the longest continuous over-water steel structure. A second parallel span was added in 1973 and a third has been discussed, most recently in 2006. A third span would not open, according to state officials, until about 2025. The bridges have eased commuting to larger cities. Kent Island, site of the first English settlement on the Shore, has become a bedroom community for Washington, DC;

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, and Baltimore. Kent Island is part of Queen Anne's County. * U.S. Route 13 * Maryland Route 213 The two major highways on the Eastern Shore are U.S. Route 13 and

, which meet in Salisbury.

Airports

The Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional Airport, in Salisbury, is the only commercial airport on the Delmarva Peninsula. Airports for private planes include: *

Bay Bridge Airport Bay Bridge Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located in Stevensville, Maryland. The airport is named for the nearby Chesapeake Bay Bridge and is mostly used for general aviation. Bay Bridge Airport was home to Lynn Aviation, the pers ...

in Stevensville * Cambridge-Dorchester Airport in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

Crisfield Municipal Airport Crisfield Municipal Airport is a public airport located from Crisfield in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. Crisfield is located near the center of the Delmarva Peninsula in the heart of Bay Country. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east ...

. * Easton Airport, in Easton * Ocean City Municipal Airport in Ocean City

Secession

The Eastern Shore has made several attempts to separate from Maryland. Proposals were debated in Maryland's General Assembly in 1833–1835, 1852, and 1998. There were earlier proposals visualizing a state encompassing the Delmarva Peninsula. The 1998 proposal by state Senators

Richard F. Colburn Richard F. Colburn (born February 9, 1950), a Republican, is a former State Senator for District 37 in Maryland. Background Richard Colburn was first elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1994 to represent District 37, which covers Caroline, ...

and

J. Lowell Stoltzfus James Lowell Stoltzfus (born July 15, 1949) is a former Republican state senator, having represented Maryland's 38th Legislative District. He was also a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 38. Early life and education James ...

did not specify a status for Eastern Shore's nine counties following secession, but suggested the new state's name could be "Delmarva".

Sports

The Delmarva Shorebirds are a minor league baseball team who play Class A

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

in the South Atlantic League at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, affiliated with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Culture

Salisbury hosts the largest bicycling event east of the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

– the Sea Gull Century and two major Maryland wine and craft beer festivals. Easton hosts a three-day artist event, the Waterfowl Festival, every November. Duck and goose hunting from blinds is a popular activity using carved wooden duck decoys, which can also be prized works of art.

Media references

The 2005 film '' Wedding Crashers'' was filmed on locations at Maryland's Eastern Shore, including the historic Inn at Perry Cabin. '' Chesapeake'' is a novel by

James A. Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and ...

, published by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Ger ...

in 1978. The story deals with several families living in the Chesapeake Bay area, from 1583 to 1978.

Notable people

John Andrews John Andrews may refer to: Sports * John Andrews (baseball) (born 1949), American baseball pitcher * John Andrews (cyclist) (1934–2000), British cyclist * John Andrews (footballer, born 1950), English footballer * John Andrews (footballer, bo ...

, clergyman. Born in Cecil County. * Frank "Home Run" Baker, baseball player * John Barth, fiction writer. Born in Cambridge, Dorchester County. * Erin Burnett, News Anchor. Born in Mardela Springs, Wicomico County. * Gilbert Byron, "Poet of the Chesapeake" * William Claiborne, first English settler within Maryland. Settled in Kent County. *

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he becam ...

, abolitionist. Born in Talbot County. * Jimmie Foxx, baseball player. Born in Sudlersville, Maryland in Northern

. * Robert Goldsborough, delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

Lambert Wickes Lambert Wickes (1735 – October 1, 1777) was a captain in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Revolutionary activities Wickes was born sometime in 1735 in Kent County, Province of Maryland. His home was on Eastern Ne ...

, Revolutionary War naval hero. * Linda Hamilton, actress. Born in Salisbury, Wicomico County. * Edward Lloyd, delegate to the Continental Congress. Born in Talbot County. *

Dale Midkiff Dale Alan Midkiff (born July 1, 1959) is an American actor, best known for playing Louis Creed in the horror film '' Pet Sematary'' (1989) and Captain Darien Lambert in the TV series '' Time Trax''. Career Midkiff acted in off-Broadway plays li ...

, actor. Born in Chance Somerset County. *

John Needles John Needles (1786–1878) was an active Quaker and noted Maryland abolitionist. He was also a master craftsman of fine furniture. Early life John Needles was born on October 4, 1786 to Edward and Mary (Lamb) Needles. They lived on a farm in t ...

, Quaker abolitionist and a master craftsman of fine furniture * Bill Nicholson, baseball player * Frank Perdue, entrepreneur. Born in Salisbury, Wicomico County. Former CEO of Perdue Farms. *

Earl S. Richardson Earl S. Richardson, Ed.D served as the 9th President of Morgan State University from 1984 to 2010. Prior to serving as the President of Morgan State University, Dr. Richardson served as Assistant to the President of the University System of Mar ...

, 11th President of Morgan State University. Born in Westover, Maryland in Somerset County. * Maggie Rogers, singer. From Easton, Maryland * J. Millard Tawes, 54th Governor of Maryland. Born in Crisfield, Somerset County. * Matthew Tilghman, delegate to the Continental Congress * Tench Tilghman, aide-de-camp to George Washington * Harriet Tubman, abolitionist, political activist, and

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

conductor * Harold Baines, baseball player. Born in Talbot County. * Paul Sarbanes, former US Senator. Born in Salisbury, Wicomico County

Towns and cities

County seats: * Denton – Caroline County * Elkton –

– Dorchester County * Chestertown – Kent County * Centreville –

* Princess Anne – Somerset County * Easton – Talbot County * Salisbury – Wicomico County * Snow Hill – Worcester County

References

External links

Delmarva Bays, Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern Shore Of Maryland Regions of Maryland Proposed states and territories of the United States